1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to water conservation systems for use in a dwelling or other building having a hot water distribution system which utilizes a pressurized main water supply, such as a city water main, as its primary source of cold water and more particularly, is concerned with an affordable water conservation system which provides a recirculating cooled hot water supply line back to the hot water heater in the hot water distribution system from the cooled-off standing hot water in the hot water lines. The conservation system further relates to the use of various electrical control devices that are rendered non-functional when used in conjunction with a pressure sensitive device that shuts off the system if the main water supply loses its pressure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Water is a precious natural resource and in today's modern world, man has invented conveniences which circumstantially have and are depleting this precious natural resource. The hot water system is one of man's inventions which is contributing to depletion of this resource. In particular, hot water systems have conditioned man to not come into contact with the water flowing from outlet faucets until the water has reached a comfortable temperature. Typically, in today's hot water systems, the water that flows from the outlet faucet while waiting for comfortable warm water to flow is wasted down the drain.
Although there are water conservation systems which have addressed this problem, they have the drawback in that it involves the utilization of expensive, specialized valves and control systems which do not fully accomplish the water conservation task and therefore override the water conservation objective. One such system is described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,142,515 to L. E. Skaats. The Skaats patent discloses a timed water recirculating system wherein a recirculating pump is responsive to a drop in water pressure and requires a pressure switch and a timer circuit apparatus which are specialized componentry. Similarly, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,829 to D. I. Morita, et al, a water conservation system is described and illustrated which requires the use of a special temperature and pressure dependent control unit to accomplish the water conservation objective. In both the Skaats and the Morita patents, the user does not fully conserve all possible water in that water is still waster during initial use and also the user does not have any control as to when to use the system. These systems, while recirculating the cooled hot water, waste water during initial use and further do not include a system utilization lock-out or disable means for the case of low or complete loss of water pressure from the main water supply. This deficiency defeats the water conservation objective and further present a potential problem of draining the stored water in a hot water heater if used while there is a loss of water pressure from the main water supply.
Consequently, a need exists for a simple and affordable water conservation system which can accomplish the water conservation objective brought about by the waste of water during the warm-up period of water flow from the hot water faucet in a hot water system. More specifically, a need exists for a cooled hot water recirculating water conservation system which will conserve water using manual control means as well as automatic means but which will be rendered non-functional if the main water pressure is low or completely lost.